An Introduction to Cosmology

During the last century cosmologists came to the seemingly bizarre conclusion that the Universe began in a ‘Big Bang’ 13.8 billion years ago. We’ll begin by discovering what drove them to this odd idea, and how it built upon the 500 years of experiment and discovery sparked into life by thinkers such as Copernicus and Galileo.

After lunch we’ll explore the modern understanding of the Cosmic story - how primordial hydrogen has been transformed into stars, galaxies, elements and ultimately complex beings such as ourselves, capable of reflecting on the whole process.

We conclude by addressing the current mysteries of dark energy and dark matter.